APPROVED DEVELOPMENT APPLICATIONS

CAPITOL THEATRE: 2490-2514 Yonge Street, 10-12 Castlefield Avenue, and portions of 20 Castlefield Avenue and 567 Duplex Avenue

BACKGROUND AND APPROVED PROPOSAL

The development is at the site of the heritage-designated Capitol Theatre Building. Located directly behind the north end of the site, at 2512R Yonge Street, is the heritage designated First North Toronto School (1850) which has been used as the Orange Hall for nearly a century.

In June 2018 Madison Homes submitted a redevelopment proposal that included both the Capitol Theatre Property, adjacent retail building to the north and the Toronto Parking Authority (TPA) Lot at the rear. This concept proposed a 21-storey tower at Yonge and Castlefield. The TPA lot had previously been identified by City Planning as the location of a future park.

The plans were re-submitted in July 2019, for a 14-storey building. The revised proposal excluded the TPA lot at the rear. LPRO sent a letter to the Councillor and City Planner on August 13, 2019, listing key concerns regarding the height, heritage, and shadow impacts of the proposal.

The development was on the Agenda for the North York Community Council (NYCC) meeting of January 8, 2020, but the item was deferred to March 12, 2020, so that issues regarding a TPA land exchange and the heritage designation could first be resolved.  LPRO sent a letter to NYCC on January 6, 2020 again asking for changes to the building including to prevent shadowing over the future park.

The City Planning Report recommended approving the building and designating the TPA Lot to a “Parks and Open Space” Area to secure it as a future park. LPRO presented at the March 12, 2020 NYCC Meeting to raise concerns over the 14 storey building height at the back overlooking a future park, looming over two sides of the abutting one storey heritage listed first school in North Toronto, and setting a precedent for more 14+ storey buildings on Yonge Street. NYCC approved the City Planning report and the application was subsequently approved by City Council at its May 28, 2020 meeting.

The final proposal approved by City Council is 14-storeys and 50.4m tall. The upper storeys would terrace back from Yonge Street and the north portion of the building will be 9 storeys. The building will include 150 residential units and 1,403m2 of retail. An underground garage with 191 parking spaces will have access from Castlefield Avenue. The façade and marquee of the historic Capitol Theatre building will be retained. In addition in October 2021 Toronto City Council approved an Official Plan Amendment changing the permitted land use on the Castlefield Parking Lot site from “Neighbourhoods” to “Parks and Open Space.” This will allow for the creation of a park, something which was envisioned through the Midtown Parks and Public Realm Plan in 2018. The park will be up to 3,700 m2 (40,000 sq. ft.) in size, which is more than 7 times the size of the nearby St. Clements Parkette.

2400-2444 YONGE STREET (FORMER BANK OF MONTREAL SITE)

BACKGROUND AND APPROVED PROPOSAL

 
 

In August 2020 representatives from LPRO and Eglinton Park Residents’ Association (EPRA) participated in an LPAT-led mediation with the Developer and the City.  In July 2021 City Council voted unanimously in favour of the settlement. LPRO and EPRA are pleased to report that the mediation negotiations resulted in important changes to the application which make it a much more appropriate development for the neighbourhood.

  • A new public park measuring 1,232 sq m (13,261 sq ft) will be constructed on Roselawn Avenue. The park will occupy 15% of the site even though the parkland bylaw only requires 10%. This is 3x the size of the park proposed in the Developer’s application prior to the mediation. The park, will have frontage of 30m (99ft) on Roselawn Avenue and a depth of 41m (134ft).  In addition, the ownership of the park land will be transferred to the City. This much-needed additional green space in the dense Yonge-Eglinton area is the largest new public park within walking distance in roughly a century. The park will also provide a buffer between the north tower of the development and the adjacent low rise neighbourhood.
  • The park will be connected to Yonge Street by a new 12.6m (41ft) wide promenade on the south side of Roselawn Avenue. There will be a generous setback from Roselawn and the sidewalk will be widened by reducing the width of the roadway.
  • The two towers have been slimmed down considerably. The size of the tower floors has been reduced from 860 sq m on the south tower and 844 sq m on the north tower ro 785 sq m on both towers. The reduced tower floor plates are much more in line with City policies. This has also resulted in an increase in the separation between the towers from 25m to 37m.
  • The height of the south tower has been reduced from 97m to 95m and the height of the north tower has been reduced from 85m to 77m. Both towers are now setback a minimum of 7m from the Yonge Street property line.
  • The podium height facing Yonge Street has been reduced from 12 storeys and 49.1m to six storeys and 28.7m facing Yonge Street, a reduction of 42%, and steps down further to two storeys along the Yonge Street sidewalk. The proposed podium height and step-backs are now proportionate to the width of Yonge Street and align with City policies.
  • The podium facing Roselawn Avenue has been reduced from 11 storeys and 45.1m to 28.7m, a reduction of 36%. The height also steps down to four storeys towards the low-rise neighbourhood, providing additional transition.
  • The development now includes dedicated space for pick-up and drop-off activity for each of the towers on the Developer’s property, in addition to a circular driveway, mitigating potential traffic problems. 
  • The slimmed-down towers, greater tower separation, reduced podium heights and increase step-backs will mitigate the visual impact of the tall buildings.
  • The proposed number of residential units has been reduced from 687 to 539, a reduction of 148 units or 22%. The density of the development has been reduced from 6.61 times the lot area to 5.71, a reduction of 14%.